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Carers, voting and.. spiders

The Election is an opportunity to move support for carers another step forward

I was asked last night where in Scotland I’m from and what it’s famous for. The most notable thing about Perth is that it used to be the capital of Scotland and Robert the Bruce was crowned there.

The legend of Robert the Bruce (Braveheart was not accurate by the way…) is that he was inspired to fight again by watching a spider successfully, after many attempts, making its web connect from one part of a cave’s roof to another. Some credit Bruce with the maxim “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”.

Speaking to carers, they often feel dispirited and hopeless. They feel as though they have to fight for everything and often get nowhere. They too can feel left alone having to fight an immoveable object.

And yet, sometimes, the irresistible force does move the immoveable object. We probably will never meet every need of every carer, but we can move things forward improving lives bit by bit and sometimes there are even larger triumphs.

In an earlier blog I related the treatment of carers to the support for Queens Park – the only amateur football club in Britain still playing in the top leagues. The good news is that since that blog Queens Park have risen up the league and tonight play Arbroath in a play off for promotion.

And the nickname of Queens Park? The Spiders.

The Election does provide an opportunity to move support for carers another step forward. None of the parties – Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, Green, SNP, Plaid Cymru, UKIP or BNP have all of the answers. But some of them may have a few.